Oil-well power mechanism



Jan. 1, 1929.

E. OPFERKUCK OIL WELL POWER MECHANISM Fi led June 2, 1926 5 Sheets-SheetI Qwnfoc Emu. OPFERKUCK,

351 @AWZWW a ien/W1 3 Jan. 1, 1929. 1,696,967

E. OPFERKUCK OIL WELL POWER MECHANISM Filed June 2. 1926 s Shgsts-Sheet2 gwmvntoc Emu; QPF'ERKUCK,

atbozmug 5 Jan. 1, 1929.

E. OPFERKUCK OIL WELL POWER MECHANISM Filed June '2. 1926 HIIHIHJ IIIIIIII II .6 l I Ill 1 l 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 EMIL OFFER/ awe-140 1 5 Jan. 1,1929; 4 1,696,967

E. OPFERKUCK OIL WELL POWER MECHANISM Filed June 2,. 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet4 EMIL OPFERKUCK,

Jam 3, 1929. 1,696,967

4 E. OPFERKU'CK OIL WELL P WER MECHANISM Filed June 2, 1925 sSheets-Sheet 5 29 r Emu OPFERKUOK,

Patented Jan. 1, 1929.

UNITED STATES.

Paris-err OFFICE.

nmn. orrnnxucx, or SPRINGFIELD, oHIo, ASSIGNOR, BY mnsnn ASSIGNMENTS, T

sUPERIoR ENGINE company, or'srnmemnnn, omo, A CORPORATION or DELA- WARE.

Application filed June 2,

which is so arranged as to transmit power, from the engine to thepumping or hoisting apparatus of the well so thatthe maximum speed andhorse power of the engine may be secured, so that the pumping operationmay be converted into a hoisting operation and so that slow speed ofpumping may be con verted into high speed of hoisting without reducingthe effectiveness of the engine.

It is my object to provide a unitary apparatus which will permit ofusing a very much shorter belt from the driving pulley to the bandwheel, thus shortening the length of the belt and engine house and thesize of the foundations. 1

It is my objectto provide a single power transmission unit, whichbecause of its uni. tary nature, will maintain its shafts in alignment,will permit of the. reversal of the direction of movement of the belt onthe,band' wheelat any speed, all of which can be secured by a singlemovement of a single control rod. o

In detail it is my object to secure this result by the use of a single,relatively short chain from the engine to the intermediate apparatus ofmy invention, the driving chain being so arranged that it will alwayscontinue in motion inthe same direction at the same speed, but uponmoving the single control lever, the apparatus will be braked, theclutches shifted and the power diverted from the slow speed mechanism tothe high speed mechanism, the single master driving chain being adaptedto actuate both mechanisms.

Heretofore, considerable difii culty has been experienced in providingadequate clutch mechanism between the engine and the driving mechanism,due to the fact that the'long belt to the band wheel, some fifty feet inlength, in addition to the strains of driving, not only put considerablestrains on the clutch and brake mechanisms, but resultcd in pullingshafts out of alignment, warping. bearings and injuring the wrist pinconnections of the piston rod with the shaft.

My present invention not only eliminates these difficulties as theclutch, reverse and,

OIL-WELL rowE mnonnnrsm.

me. Serial no. 113,320.

brake mechanism are removed from the engine, but also provides a shorterbelt with a larger driving surface for the belt, thus securing greaterefliciency. It is also possible to nowmaintain the engine .at itsmaximum speed and horse power without the loss heretofor occasioned dueto the use of the previous methods of reversal. A larger pulley can beused to increase the belt contact, the

belt house can be reduced in length and the alignment of the parts isinsured by mounting all the parts which are subjected to any strain upona single base casting with short shafts thereon supported in heavybearings.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation ofthe lower portion of a derrick, the pumping apparatus, the powertransmission apparatus of my invention and the engine;

Figure 2 is a large side elevation from the engine driving side of theengine and the power transmission unit, showing the arrangement of thesingle chain driving both slow speed and high speed sprockets and drivenand high speed shafts;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the mechanism partially broken away to showthe arrangement of .clutch control reverse and bell cranks Figure 4: isa rear elevation of the power transmission mechanism;

Figure 5 is an end elevation o'f'the right hand side of the mechanismshown m Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a section through the clutch sprocket and shaft, ShOWing atypical installation of the clutch and itsassociated mechanism. 1

Figure 7 is a view showing a brake wheel and band, with part of themeans for operating the 'brake. I

Referring to the drawings in detail, 1 is an engine having a fly wheel 2and a shaft 3 upon which shaft is mounted a sprocket 4 actuating amaster driving chain 5 which is mounted upon themasterdriving sprocket 6turning in the direction of the arrow. This sprocket 6 is mounted on thedriven shaft 7 The chain 5 rests upon the reverse sprocket 8 which'iscarried on the reverse 'and turns therewith.

a rectangular, single, integral supporting base. The bearings supportedthereon are mounted in the usual columns 13. This master driven shaft 7carries on it not only the sprockets 6, which is loosely mountedthereon, but also the clutch generally designated 14 which fixes thesprocket. 6 on the shaft, when desired- The shaft 7 carries the drivingpulley 15 which is fixed thereon The shaft also carries the brake drums16, which turns therewith beneath the brake band 17. The right hand ofthe shaft 7 carries loosely thereon asmall high speed reverse sprocket18 and a clutch The reverse shaft 9 carries on one end the drivingreverse sprocket 8 which is fixed thereon on the left hand side and thecompanion reverse sprocket 20 on the right hand side which is fixed onthe shaft 9. This shaft is carried in the usual bearings on the columns13. Achain 21 is mounted upon the sprocket and the sprocket 18. Thecontrol mechanism for alternately having slow forward driving forpumping and fast reverse driving for hoisting is arranged and operatedas follows.

A master control rod which leads to a place adjacent the operator isdesignated-22. This rod extends to a point approximately midway the basecasting where it is pivotally connected to an upstanding arm 23 pivotedon a stub shaft 24 supported in bearings 25 which are mounted insupports 26 on the base casting 12, This arm 23 is adapted to rock theshaft 24. On this shaft is a brake arm 27 being pivotally connected at30 to a lever 31, which lever in turn is pivoted upon a bracket mountedon the base casting. This bracket is designated 32 and the lever 31 ispivoted thereon at 33. The lever is extended into a second arm 34 sothat the two arms form a bell crank. The free end of this arm isconnected at 35 to the moving arm of the brake band 36. the other end ofwhich is pivotally fixed at 37 on the supporting frame.

Returning to the shaft 24, it will be noted that it is provided with abell crank having arms 38 and 39. The arm 38 is connected by a link 40which is pivotally mounted thereon at 41 to a bell crank 42 which ispivotally mounted on the base casting at 43. This bell crank hasattached to it another rod 44 which is the clutch rod for the reversemechanism. This rod 44 is pivotally mounted to the bottom of a lever 45which in turn is pivotally supported at 46 on a bracket 47 on the righthand side of the machine. The upper end of this lever 45 terminates in ajaw 48. The jaw is mounted between the shoulders 49 which in turn aremounted on a sleeve 50 carrying the movshaft 7. The left hand movementof the clutch will bring it into engagement wit-h the engaging face ofthe clutch member 19.

Returning to the bell crank arm 39, it will be noted that there ispivoted thereon at 52 a link 53 which is pivoted at 54 to the bell crank55, which is in turn pivotally mounted at 56 upon the base 12. The otherarm of this bell crank is connected to a link 57 which is the forwarddriving clutch link. This link is pivoted at 58 to the shifting arm 59which in turn is supported on the bracket 60 at 61. The upper end ofthis arm 59 terminates in a yoke 62 working within spaced collars 63 onthe sleeve 64 on the shaft 7. This sleeve carries the clutch 65 whichserves to connect the pulley 6 with the shaft 7 or disconnect it.

The remainer 0f the mechanism is of any conventional type. The pulleywheel 15 drives the belt 65 on the band wheel 66 which has connected toa crank 67 a stirrup 68 which in turn is connected to the walking beam69 mounted on the Samson post. The

free end of the walking beam is connected to the pumping mechanismgenerally designated 71 within the derrick 72. The band wheel issupported on the' ack post 73.

Method of operation.

The engine 1 runs continuously driving the chain 5. This chain 1n turndrives the sprocket wheel 6 continuously and the small reverse sprocket8, such sprockets turning in opposite directions. The sprocket 8 is Ilixed on the shaft 9 so that the shaft 9 also turns continuously. Thesprocket G, however, is mounted loosely on the shaft 7. When thesprocket 6 is clutched to the shaft 7 through the clutch 65 the shaft isdriven forwardly at low speed for the purpose of pumping. loose upon theshaft 7 and the clutch 51 is in its disengaged position. The sprocket 18is turning in the reverse direction because it is connected by the chain21 to the sprocket 20 which is mounted on the shaft 9.

When the operator desires to reverse, he moves the rod 22 rotating theshaft 24 thereby applying the brake 17 opening. thev clutch 65 allowingthe sprocket 6 to turn loosely on the shaft 7 and closing the clutch 51connecting the sprocket. 18 to the shaft 7 toturn the shaft in thereverse direction with the sprocket 18 which is being driven bythe'chain 5. sprocket 8., shaft 9. sprocket 20 and chain 21. verse drivedue to the sizes of the parts. It is thus possible for the operatorwithoutdisturbing the engine or its speed or dccreasing the effectivehorse power therefrom and without shutting down his equipment by onemovement. to shift from slow speed forward pumping position to highspeed reverse hoisting position.

At this time, the sprocket 18 is This is a high speed reessee"? When itrefer to chains and sprockets, it will he understood that l. comprehendwithin my invention other forms common in the art of driving mechanism.ll use these definite terms for the purpose of convenience and not forthe purpose of limiting myself to the detail'mechanism specified, as itis obvious, under some conditions, belts, gear trains orequivalentmechanism may be used for driving.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a bed plate, a driven shaft mounted thereon, aforward driving sprocket mounted thereon loosely, a clutch adapted toengage said sprocket with said shaft, a driving pulley mounted on saidshaft turning therewith, a reverse sprocket loosely mounted onsaid'shaft, a clutch for connecting said sprocket to said shaft, areverse shaft mounted on said bed plate,

- sprockets mounted on either end thereof, a

common driving means passing around said forward driving sprocket firstmentioned and over one of the reverse shaft sprockets,

a chain connecting the other of reverse shaft sprockets with the reversesprocket on the driven shaft, means for throwing said clutches into andout of engagement alternately mounted on said common base plate,

,whereby the common driving chain continuously rotates the forwarddriving sprocket, the reverse shaft and the reverse sprockets, a brakedrum mounted onthe driven shaft, a brake band associated therewith,means to actuate said brake band interconnected with the clutch actuatedmechanisms and a common control means for controlling the clutches andthe brake mechanism whereby the driven shaft may be driven in alternatethereon, a relatively large driving pulley between the bearingssupporting said driven shaft, a brake adjacent thereto, a drivingsprocket on the outside of one of said bearings loosely mounted on thedriven shaft, a clutch exterior thereof, a bracket mounted on said baseplate for supporting the clutch operating mechanism, a second clutchmounted on said driven shaft on the outside of the other bearing, asecond bracket so mounted for supporting the second clutch mechanism, areverse sprocket mounted in between the second bearing and the secondclutch on said driven shaft, a clutch control shaft mounted on said bedplate, means connected to said shaft for operating said clutches andsaid brake, a common means for actuating said clutch control shaft,sprockets mounted on the outside of the bearings supporting said reverseshaft and on said reverse shaft,.a"common driving chain passing aroundsaid forward driving sprocket on the drivenshaft and over one of thesprockets on the reverse shaft actuating both of said sprocketscontinuously, a second chain connecting the reverse sprocket on thedriven shaft and the other reverse sprocket on the reverse shaft.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

Em orrnnnnon

